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Heists, Hijinks, and Hardboiled Heroes: Misadventures in Middle Grade

By on December 9, 2024   /   Articles, Book Lists, Fiction  

One of the fun things about middle grade books is that they possess the capacity to reflect the adult world on a smaller scale, mimicking and evoking the tropes of other genres without missing a beat. You can have your hardboiled private detectives, your intrepid journalists, your tarnished white knights. You can have your criminal masterminds, menacing henchmen, and slick con artists. The only difference is, they’re tweens and their playground is quite literally the school playground. But all the passions, foibles, dreams and disappointments can be found here … just don’t get caught by the principal!  Read on for a selection of old and new books which expertly capture the dark side of middle school.

The Big Splash by Jack D. Ferraiolo

Hardboiled loner Matt Stevens winds up entangled in the dark and dastardly schemes of a middle school crime syndicate, facing off against hitmen armed with water pistols, in this cool, stylish, and snappy callback to classic noir.  Though set firmly in the world of seventh- and eight-grade, this serious plays its tropes and themes seriously, from the wise-cracking, world-weary hero to the ruthless crime lord, from the complicated yet lovely femme fatale to the corrupt authorities. A sequel, The Quick Fix, saw Matt investigating who blackmailed the school basketball star.

High Score by Destiny Howell

Seventh-grade mastermind DJ has called it quits to schemes and cons, doing his best to lay low in a new school. Then his former partner and best friend Conor shows up, and winds up on the wrong side of the school’s criminal kingpin. To cancel out Conor’s debt and save him from becoming a social pariah, DJ has to assemble a new crew and acquire an astronomical amount of arcade tickets. It looks like he’s back in the game after all. Fast-paced, funny, and clever, this middle grade heist is as daring as any Danny Ocean might conceive. Followed by Second To None, in which DJ’s crew deals with a conspiracy aimed at taking down the school’s high achievers and club leaders.

 

The Great Green Heist by Varian Johnson

Another instance of a mastermind being recalled to a life of intrigue and danger, this political thriller sees Jackson Greene, reformed con man, pulling together a team of specialized operatives to swing the school presidential election. There’s nothing quite like the reluctant anti-hero ripped from a peaceful life and torn between friendship and honor. This is followed by To Catch a Cheat, in which Jackson and friends must clear their names after being framed by outwitting a devious blackmailer. “Just when I thought I was out, they pulled me back in,” to quote the Godfather movies…

 

The Cookie Crumbles by Tracy Badua and Alechia Dow

Talented baker Laila and her best friend, aspiring journalist Lucy, are excited to participate in the Golden Cookie Competition, especially since winning could determine their future in high school together. Before the final round, they must contend with sabotage, foul play, and the poisoning of one of the judges. In this cozy yet tense mystery, the recipe for success involves friendship, chocolate, and a healthy dose of danger. To be followed in 2025 by Their Just Desserts, another tasty mystery set against a baking competition.

 

The Sherlock Society by James Ponti

The Sherlock siblings—Alex and Zoe–, along with their friends Lina and Yadi, set out to form their own detective agency, only to discover it’s not as easy as it seems. Assisted by their grandfather, a retired reporter with a collection of cold cases, the Sherlocks launch a hunt for Al Capone’s lost treasure, only to stumble across more contemporary crimes in need of solving. With this delightfully intelligent, fast-paced tale, Ponti evokes classic juvenile sleuths while giving them a modern day makeover.

 

Bubblegum Shoes: The Case of the Contraband Closet by Goldy Moldavsky

In this clever mystery coming out next year, would be private detective Maya Mendoza has a nose for intrigue, a knack for getting in trouble, and a reputation for missing the mark. But when someone pulls off the heist of the century by emptying her school’s “Contraband Closet” of all its treasures, Maya has to enlist her estranged best friend and several new allies to solve the case. The clock is ticking and everyone is a suspect in this snappy, suspenseful series opener.

 

And there you go, a selection of hardboiled heroes, reluctantly reformed con men, and amateur investigators, all ready to see justice satisfied one way or another. Now if only they could solve the mystery of where I left the remote…

 

 

 

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Writing Prompts: How to Make Yours Shine

By on December 4, 2024   /   Articles, For Writers  
A writer's Notebook
Writing prompts, whether in a classroom or workshop setting, can be hit or miss–especially if the prompt is too general. If you ask students to choose an object in the classroom, for instance, half of them might focus on the ancient clock on the wall and how slowly the second hand moves from numeral to numeral. Or, if you ask students to write about a specific event in their lives, they might fall back on vague and/or generic descriptions that lack the tension required in strong writing. (The “What I Did on My Summer Vacation” and “I Remember…” prompts fall squarely into this category.)

Don’t get me wrong: Tried-and-true writing prompts are good in a pinch. But there are some excellent craft books available to help teachers, workshop leaders, parents and caregivers to infuse excitement and originality into their everyday prompts.

 

Help Is On the Way

Writing Workshop book

One of my favorite writing-craft gurus is Ralph Fletcher, an educator who’s been helping other educators since the early 2000s. His first craft book, co-authored with JoAnn Portalupi, Writing Workshop: The Essential Guide, is a great guide for teachers, students, and workshop leaders. In this book, Fletcher breaks up ideas into days and weeks to help with lesson plans. His most recent book (pictured above), A Writers Notebook: Unlocking the Writer Within You, helps writers to see their world and, perhaps most importantly, how to react to what they see. 

Advice from Ralph Fletcher

Ralph Fletcher


1. Make sure each writer has a writer’s notebook.
2. Provide adequate writing time of at least five minutes and up to 15 or 20 minutes, if everyone’s fully engaged. Ideas don’t just fly across space to land in a writer’s brain (well, at least not all the time).
3. Share a piece of your own writing before everyone starts writing. And write with them.
4. It’s okay to let workshoppers draw rather than write as all forms of creative expression are encouraged.
5. Help your group to find ideas by asking questions and sharing prompts.

Some great first workshop examples include:
–What do you know a lot about?
–Do you play sports, or enjoy an activity such as dance or chess?
–Who’s a special relative you spend lots of time with?
–Do you collect stuff?

Fletcher, a big believer in tying writing prompts to reading, provides some great ideas for read-alouds connected to writing:

—The Relatives Came by Cynthia Rylant. Write about a time you had relatives come to your house. What were you celebrating?  

— Marianthe’s Story: Painted Words Spoken Memories by Aliki. What is a color-filled memory you have? 

 — If You Find a Rock by Peggy Christianson. Write about a found object and the things you might do with it.              

— My Map Book by Sara Fanelli.  Create a map of an object or place. Explain in writing how the object works or what makes this place special.                                  

When time is up, ask participants to share their work, even if they’re not finished, and encourage them to come back to these pieces later. You never know what a bit of time and distance can reveal.

And finally…

If all else fails, you could probably encourage writers to write about all the places chewing gum gets stuck. But I need to add one more thought on my favorite writing prompt from Ralph’s toolbox. Have students write or draw what makes a safe place. The result of this prompt is both surprising and revelatory… in equal measure. 

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New books for the holidays!

By on December 2, 2024   /   Articles, New Releases  
Exciting new books coming out this month for the middle-grade readers on your holiday gift list.
The titles below include new additions to several New York Times Bestselling series, and two war-time historical fiction titles. Although intended for younger readers, A Sea of Gold, the latest by the amazing author/illustrator Patricia Polacco, would make a great companion to either of the historical fiction works.
Time for Kids has two new nonfiction titles coming out at the end of the month. One offers the “scoop” for young cub reporters, the other a thoroughly researched listing of amazing athletes.
Links are included to bookshop.org, which supports local booksellers. Want to learn more about the authors? Simply click on their names.
Happy shopping and reading!
Keeper of the Lost Cities Unraveled, Author: Shannon Messenger, Aladdin, December 2

The past and present unravel into staggering truths in this can’t-miss installment of the New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling Keeper of the Lost Cities series told entirely from Keefe’s point of view.
Please be careful. Please be happy. And PLEASE forget all about me. It’ll be better for everyone that way.
Those were the last words Keefe Sencen wrote to Sophie Foster before he ran away to the Forbidden Cities. He didn’t want to leave, but it was the only way to keep his friends safe while he figured out how to control his scary new powers and searched for answers about his past.
What he found was so much more than adventures in Humanland.
Where did he go? What did he do? And who did he meet while the rest of his friends worked to solve the mystery of Stellarlune? The answers go far beyond anything anyone could have ever imagined and give Keefe the power to change his destiny.

 

 The End of the Story, Author; Melissa De La Cruz, Roaring Brook Press, December 3

Return to the land of Never After for the last time in the riveting conclusion to New York Times-bestselling author Melissa de la Cruz’s hit middle-grade series perfect for fans of The Land of Stories books. The Never After crew is back for a final epic adventure . . . With Queen Olga drawing ever nearer, Filomena and her friends race to find the last surviving fairy, Sabine, and protect her at all costs. For if Sabine dies, so does all of Never After. Without a moment to lose, Filomena, Jack, Alistair, Gretel, and the rest of the gang–along with some new pals like Captain Hook–set off for Pan’s Neverland to find Sabine. But even in Neverland, there’s mischief afoot. Pan is no ordinary boy, and the group discovers Sabine goes by another name in this mysterious realm: Tinker Bell! But trickster gods and undercover fairies are just the beginning for Filomena and her adventurous friends. As Olga’s evil forces close in, will Filomena find a way to protect the magic of Never After once and for all, and ensure a happily-ever-after for the End of the Story?

 

Swimming with Spies, Author: Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger, Scholastic Press, December 3

As war escalates between the Russians and Ukrainians in the port city of Sevastopol, can one girl and a pod of dolphins prove that communication is the greatest weapon of all?

It’s February of 2014 in the seaport city of Sevastopol in Crimea. Sofiya Oleksandrivna only wants two things: to figure out a way to get Ilya Ilyich to stop bullying her, and to convince her mother to come back home. But as battleships come to populate the waters around their city and Russian forces, including Ilya’s father, start to make their presence known, an even greater threat takes over Sofiya’s life.

The only escape Sofiya has is the dolphinarium where her father is a trainer at the forefront of teaching sign language to a pod of dolphins. And now the Russian military has ordered the dolphinarium to hand over its animals for military use. As armed Russian troops invade Crimea and conflict and tension continue to rise, Sofiya will do everything she can to keep her pod safe. And what she knows better than any of the soldiers occupying her city, is that the most powerful force is communication.

Based on the true events of the 2014 annexation of Crimea, Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger depicts a familiar world where divisions are sown by hate, but where love can make a world of difference.

Wolves at the Door, Author: Steve Watkins, Scholastic Press, December 3

War. Wilderness. And the will to live.Asta and her younger sister, Pieta, have watched in terror as Hitler’s invasion spreads across Europe. Eventually, the war arrives in their city, bringing with it destruction and death. As the Nazis clash with Stalin’s Red Army and relentless bombing rains from above, the girls flee to their grandparents’ farm. But no place is safe. Surrounded by enemies, Asta and Pieta are presented with one chance at escape: a transport ship leaving from the Baltic Sea.

Getting from the farm to the coast is an impossible trip through a brutal war in the dead of winter. With food scarce, warm clothing lacking, and few resources, the sisters have little chance of making it. And Asta and Pieta are not alone in their plans–everyone is headed to the harbor with the same desperate hope. Securing a place on the ship will require nothing short of a miracle. Their dangerous journey is only just beginning, though, and the sisters can’t begin to imagine what they’ll have to sacrifice to survive . . .

 

A Sea of Gold, Author/Illustrator Patricia Polacco, Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books, December 3

“An empathetic, heartbreaking look at how warfare can tear families apart–and how traditions still endure.” –Kirkus Reviews

Beloved and bestselling storyteller Patricia Polacco draws on her Ukrainian heritage in this picture book following one family’s history through the generations and the powerful bond of their love.
In the village of Cherinovska, Ukraine, a family raises sunlasknuk (sunflowers) through the generations. When war erupts, they’re forced to leave their beloved home for a faraway world: America. Arriving with nothing but the clothes on their back–and the seeds in one little girl’s pockets–can they make a living…and a new home?

 

 

Time for Kids* Kid Reporter Field Reporter: A How-To Book for Junior Journalists,

Author: Hannah Rose Holzer, Penguin Young Readers, December 29

Learn how to be a junior journalist with this TIME For Kids Field Guide!

This field guide teaches you how to write many types of articles across several different sections including News, Opinion, Reviews, Arts and Culture, Sports, and more! Learn how to be a journalist in this book that explains how to interview sources, cover sports events, critique restaurants, write features on impactful people, and create great articles. This guide also features biographies on several famous journalists throughout history, including Ida B. Wells and Nellie Bly.

Providing reliable sources for parents and educators for over 25 years, the TIME for Kids field guide is an excellent gift for young readers who want to learn more about the world and how to write about it.

 

 

Time for Kids* Amazing Athletes:101 Stars You Need to Know! Author: James Buckley, 

Penguin Young Readers, December 29

Learn about 101 of today’s greatest athletes in this TIME for Kids book!

The fact-filled TIME FOR KIDS: AMAZING ATHLETES includes biographies on 101 of today’s most impressive sports stars. Kids will be inspired by the careers of LeBron James, Simone Biles, Travis Kelce, Caitlin Clark, Coco Gauff, Nathan Chen, and more! Perfect for young sports fans, this book is a great introduction to the best of the best athletes across eighteen different sports.

Providing reliable news sources to parents and educators for over 25 years, this TIME for Kids book is perfect for sports fanatics and introducing different types of sports.

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